Michael Westen
Michael Westen is the main protagonist and narrator in the television series Burn Notice. He is portrayed by Jeffrey Donovan. History Early History Michael was born in Miami, and suffered through a horrible and dysfucatal childhood; his father beat him repeatedly as a measure of obedience, as well as taking advantage of him for his own gain (e.g. by having Michael fake a seizure inside a Mr. Goodwrench store so Frank could steal some spark plugs in his quest to finish his beloved custom-built car; The Charger). Frank died two years after Michael became a spy but Michael refused to attend his funeral despite his mother's protests. However, after being burned, and after persistent persuasion from his mother, Michael did visit his father's grave. He stated the "Beloved" term placed on his gravestone was "a bit of a stretch" (as Michael still hated his father), he nevertheless gruffly thanked his father for The Charger, which his mother claimed Frank wanted him to have. The rest of his family, while unconditionally caring about him, are nevertheless full of flaws; his mother is neurotic and a hypochondriac, and his younger brother is a compulsive gambler and later petty criminal and con-artist, who had a history of stealing from Michael to fund his gambling addiction. Spy career Michael joined the United States Military at the age of 17. This was because Michael wished to get away from his family; having found that he was happiest when he is in a different hemisphere from the rest of his family. Leaving with nothing but $50 and a change of clothes, Michael never turned back, and vowed to never return to Miami. After an unknown career in the military, Michael became Covert Intelligence Operative Agent freelancing for the CIA, or, in short, a "Spy". For the next 10 years, Michael served the United States of America in covert operations all over the world, though mostly into Eastern Europe and the OPEC countries. Michael gained a considerable reputation; as while he is usually affable and easygoing, he is also very dangerous while engaged in combat; usually able to neutralize enemies with ease. Michael is also highly skilled and extremely clever; displaying his abilities by quickly thinking on his feet, improvising electronic devices from commonly available commercial equipment (e.g. radios, cell phones etc.) and using ordinary items (ranging from duct tape to cake frosting) in highly unorthodox ways in order to complete a job. Michael also became an expert martial artist; spending almost 30 years of karate and gaining 2 black belts. He also received Special Operations training, and became rated with "anything that fires a bullet or holds an edge". Michael believes his unhappy childhood, mostly his father's responsibility, has helped make him into a natural covert operative, though as a result, it has made relationships difficult for him. With time, Michael became a cynic hardened by experience, though also soon reveals he has a soft, and sometimes vulnerable, side to himself. His specialties were tactical analysis, hand-to-hand combat and cooking. The exact details of his missions are, as yet, unknown. Burning Michael was on a dangerous mission to Nigeria. At a critical moment in the middle of the mission; Michael's contact on his cell-phone suddenly informs him the mission is off; and they have a "Burn Notice" on him (identifing him as an unreliable or dangerous agent; and is effectively fired), thus he is black-listed. Shooting and stealing his way to an airport, Michael is barely able to escape from those he is dealing with with his life (though is severely injured in the process). Michael is then effectively dumped in his hometown of Miami without money or resources, unable to leave or risk "disappearing" completely (being killed). Having been "burned" (considered an untrustworthy entity); Michael's bank accounts are seized, his assets frozen, is cut off from all of his contacts and flagged on every government list known to man (as the skills and knowledge he possess cannot be taken back, so instead they take the resources that allow him to function, all to make sure he can never work again). This is every spy's worst nightmare; and Michael is living it. Status Currently, Michael struggles to put his life back together, and find out why he's been cut off. Michael has vowed to get his government job back, and do everything he can to pursue the reason and person or persons who burned him; who issued his burn notice and why he was blacklisted. Gradually, Michael gets closer to the truth. Left to fend off a suddenly hostile world of old foes gunning for him, Michael enlisted the help of the only two "friends" he has: Fiona Glenanne; a violence-prone ex-IRA operative who seeks closure from being his girlfriend at one time during his career though it ended when Michael proved to be afraid of commitment, and Sam Axe; a washed-out military intelligence contact who he keeps up a good and friendly relationship with (as, with Michael's knowledge, Sam is informing and keeping an eye on Michael for the FBI). Michael counts on his friends on more than one occasion. In the meantime, Michael uses his unique skills and training to try to find work that fits his skills. He is forced to live off his wits and any small investigative jobs he can find; helping desperate people with problems that they can't go to the police with, as well as whoever else needs his services. These jobs fund his personal investigation and allows him to scrape by and survive in Miami. On a personal level, he contends with his mother, who calls him 30 times a day as she couldn't be happier to have her son back in town, and brother on a daily basis, elsewhere he lives in a cheap, low key apartment. Now stuck in Miami, he must confront the bad memories of his childhood, and repair the broken relationships he left behind. Background Information and Notes *Michael appears to favor the SIG Sauer P228 (9x19mm) as his primary sidearm which is known to be easy to conceal. * Michael's signature sunglasses are made by Oliver Peoples, and the style is called "Victory". In the episode Broken Rules Michael claimed he got the sunglasses from an Algerian special ops soldier he tangled with who "didn't need them anymore." * Michael seems to have a fondness for yogurt (particularly Blueberry) as he is often seen talking about it and eating it in various episodes. In the episode Broken Rules he blackmails an agent by showing him multiple embarrassing photos, one of them of the agent breaking inside Michael's home without a warrant and eating his yogurt. To date, Family Business is the only episode that features no appearance or mention of yogurt. * Michael wears a suit similar to Leonard Shelby in Memento. * When secretly breaking into a person's home, Michael tends to snack on food items in the person's kitchen, such as tortilla chips and yogurt. * Michael tends to whistle when impressed.. References External links * USA Burn Notice: Michael Westen Character Bio at USA.com * Burned in Miami: Michael Westen, an unofficial fansite. Category:People Category:Operatives Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters Category:Season 3 characters Category:Season 4 characters Category:Westen family Category:Former CIA operatives Category:Main Characters